Pochettino: Spurs Are Not On The Same Level With Arsenal

Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino is not getting ahead of himself and believes it’ll be wrong to compare his side to an Arsenal side that has enjoyed stability over two decades under Arsene Wenger.

Tottenham visit the Emirates ststadiumin the first North London derby of the season, a month after Wenger celebrated his 20th season at the helm of the club.

Pochettino has transformed Tottenham since his appointment in 2014, leading an unlikely title charge last season and they remain the only unbeaten side in the top flight in the 2016-17 season.

But the former Argentina defender says that the ongoing work to rebuild both Spurs’ stadium and the squad itself means trying to draw comparisons with their fierce rivals is futile.

“Arsenal, after 20 years of Arsene Wenger, are one of the most consistent clubs in the world. It’s difficult to compare us with Arsenal,” he said.

“We want to be one of the best but we’re still building the training ground, the new stadium and our squad. But you put that away when you compete. We need to be aggressive and try to play better than them.”

Spurs’ 1-0 Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley on Wednesday means they are without a win in six games in all competitions since beating Manchester City 2-0.

“We’re not in a positive situation, we’ve struggled to win games after beating Manchester City,” Pochettino said. “We need to work hard and try more than before because we’re in a difficult moment.

“You need to be ready to change the dynamic and we have a very good opportunity on Sunday.

“It will be an exciting game for us and for them, too. It will be tough for both teams. It’s a big challenge for them to beat us and for us to win.

“I was very disappointed with the performance on Wednesday. We know we were poor and we cannot play that way against Arsenal. But it’s a completely different competition and it will be a completely different game.”